A MAN has gone on trial accused of punching his ex-girlfriend in the throat and to back of her head on multiple occasions.
Damian O’Sullivan is before a jury at Preston Crown Court charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Opening the case prosecutor Hanifa Patel said O’Sullivan, 30, moved into the complainant’s property on Walney soon after beginning their relationship in October 2022.
Ms Patel said the relationship ‘took a turn for the worst’ on September 10 last year when O’Sullivan returned to the complainant’s property intoxicated at 5am.
She told the jury the defendant refused to get up the following day and so she sprayed a bottle of Febreeze in an attempt to make him leave.
It was then, the jury heard, that O’Sullivan allegedly grabbed the bottle from her and sprayed her in the face multiple times.
Ms Patel said O’Sullivan then pushed the woman onto the bed and hit her several times to the back of the head before attempting to tie her up with rope.
The court heard the defendant allegedly assaulted his former partner again at her home on September 17.
Continuing to outline the prosecution’s alleged facts of the case, Ms Patel said the defendant had been out drinking again when he returned to the complainant’s house at 7:15 am.
The court was told numerous offensive text messages were exchanged throughout the night with one detailing the defendant threatening to burn the complainant’s house down.
Ms Patel said the complainant threw a glass of water over O’Sullivan and asked him to leave when he returned.
She said the defendant then retaliated by throwing a washing basket at her face and an electric fan which narrowly missed and smashed against the wall.
The prosecution said O'Sullivan then punched the woman two or three times to the throat.
The court was told O’Sullivan was arrested later that day after a 999-call handler from Cumbria Police had phoned the complainant back after the defendant had told her to hang up the phone.
Giving evidence to the court, the complainant said: “He was very jealous. It was a volatile relationship. He accused me of a lot of things.”
The court heard the alleged victim suffered a cut to her lip and bruises to her hands as a result of the assaults.
O’Sullivan, of Salisbury Road, Lancaster pleaded guilty to another charge of assault by beating on August 22 which involved punching the same woman to the face, the court heard.
The court was also told the complainant had a previous caution for battery in 2020 for headbutting a previous partner in the street.
The trial continues.
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